This is a reading and research activity associated with activities during Solar Week, a twice-yearly event in March and October during which classrooms are able to interact with scientists studying the Sun. Outside of Solar Week, information,...(View More) activities, and resources are archived and available online at any time. During this activity, learners research different science jobs and salary ranges in several online employment databases and answer related questions. This activity is scheduled to occur during Friday of Solar Week.(View Less)

The Cosmic Times Gallery Walk and Cosmic Times Jigsaw lessons serve as extensions to the Cosmic Times suite of curriculum support materials. They are intended to provide an introduction to Cosmic Times as a whole, giving students the larger picture...(View More) of how our understanding of the universe has changed over the last century. During the Gallery Walk lesson, students peruse the Cosmic Times posters to answer open-ended questions. During the Jigsaw lesson, students work in cooperative teams to understand the primary scientific advances over the past century that have contributed to our current understanding of the universe.(View Less)

This story-based lesson presents information on the early investigation into solar and cosmic X-rays, as well as the scientists working in pursuit of X-ray detection and imaging, that set the stage for a program of space-based astronomy. The lesson...(View More) is narrated by Dr. Herbert Friedman, and includes information on his work, as well as his childhood, home life, and interests while a college student.(View Less)

This is a lesson about landing site selection. Learners will work in teams to determine a landing site for their Mars Rover that best relates to their scientific question. They use technology skills to research Gale Crater through an online...(View More) interactive module and learn about features of Mars through use of Google Earth Mars. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes: TEKS Details (Texas Standards alignment), Essential Question, Science Notebook, Vocabulary Definitions for Students, Vocabulary Definitions for Teachers, three Vocabulary Cards, and a Mini-Lesson. This is lesson 8 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum.(View Less)

Learners will investigate probes and rovers to learn how they are built, learn about the propulsion, navigation, controls and daily handling of spacecraft, gather, and analyze data from multiple sources on the internet, and understand how rovers...(View More) communicate with Earth. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes: TEKS Details (Texas Standards alignment), Essential Question, Science Notebook, Vocabulary Definitions for Students, Vocabulary Definitions for Teachers, two Vocabulary Cards, a Vocabulary Toolbox and four workstation handouts. This is lesson 9 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum.(View Less)

This is a set of two activities about Saturn. Learners will create science journals called Saturn Discovery Logs, to chronicle their journey of discovery about Saturn and NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission. They will use observation skills and write...(View More) about their observations. In teams, they also discuss and record what they wonder about. Their writing forms the basis for "claims" and "evidence" as projects and presentations are formulated. Includes a glossary, information for families, and guidance for deepening the science. This is lesson 1 of 8 in the Jewel of the Solar System: From Out-of-School to Outer Space an adaptation for afterschool programs of the Cassini-Huygens educational product Reading, Writing, and Rings.(View Less)

This is a lesson about how to plan a mission to explore another world in the Solar System. Learners will discuss the path of a spacecraft traveling between planets, examining the journey from the Earth to Mars as an example. In Activity 1, students...(View More) determine the pros and cons for different ways we can explore another world, either by observing from the Earth or by sending a spacecraft to fly by, orbit, or land on the world. In Activity 2, the students plan a complete mission to explore another world in the Solar System. By the end of the lesson, the students come to understand that what scientists want to learn about an object determines how they plan the mission, but real-life constraints such as cost and time determine what actually can be accomplished.(View Less)

In this science literacy extension students read and analyze two different articles about XMM-Newton discoveries involving neutron stars and their magnetic fields. This is Activity 4 of the Supernova Guide developed by the XMM-Newton and GLAST E/PO...(View More) programs. The guide features extensive background information, assessment rubrics, student worksheets, extension and transfer activities, and detailed information about physical science and mathematics content standards. Note: In 2008, GLAST was renamed Fermi, for the physicist Enrico Fermi.(View Less)

This is an activity about the future of Mars exploration. Learners will debate a specified position by researching and providing evidence to support their position. This is lesson 4 of 5 in Buried Water Ice on Mars.

This is a set of lessons about the Moon. Learners will focus on answering the essential question: What are the challenges engineers and scientists are working to solve as NASA prepares to send humans to live and work on the Moon for extended periods...(View More) of time? In order to understand the challenges NASA faces in returning humans to the Moon, and how these challenges can be overcome, learner groups will brainstorm the challenges of going back to the Moon. They will read what the experts have to say about these challenges, discuss their value and relevancy, debate the importance of the challenges, debrief as a class, and identify the most difficult challenges for returning humans to the Moon to live and work for extended periods of time. They will use skills in reading, interpretation, communication, and processing to interpret information, make inferences, and draw conclusions.(View Less)